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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193285">Invictus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekofKhaos/pseuds/GeekofKhaos'>GeekofKhaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, Post-Apocalyptic, weirdmageddon was successful</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:00:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,062</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193285</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekofKhaos/pseuds/GeekofKhaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gravity Falls is in ruins. Four years after Weirdmageddon, Dipper, Ford, Soos, Melody, Pacifica, and Gideon fight daily to survive Bill's harsh new world. When Soos and Melody make an unexpected announcement, the Remnants are forced to push back against their stalemate with Bill, in hopes of finally taking back their lives, and taking back Gravity Falls.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wendy Corduroy/Dipper Pines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The scarred, brown landscape no longer bore any resemblance to the idyllic mountain valley where Dipper Pines had arrived only four years ago with his twin sister, Mabel. Burnt out husks of trees dotted the hills like five o'clock shadow, and hollow, charred houses lined the overgrown grid of broken pavement that was once a small Oregon community called Gravity Falls.</p><p>Dipper stood on a hill overlooking the ruins of the town, squinting against the light of the setting sun. By his reckoning, it was his and Mabel's seventeenth birthday. Well, his, at any rate. He felt the familiar prickle of guilt at the back of his throat as he glanced in the direction of Ford's derelict cryogenics lab. He'd had to abandon his sister there just over two years ago after she'd fallen deathly ill. With no doctors left in Gravity Falls, and with no way to communicate with the outside world (Bill had seen to that), the small community of Weirdmageddon survivors had made the difficult decision to cryogenically freeze Mabel until they were able to find help for her. Whenever that was.</p><p>Dipper swallowed and looked down at this feet. He was seventeen years old now, while his twin was still stuck in stasis as a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old. Everything about it felt wrong—but that was par for the course in this post-Weirdmageddon wasteland. Everything <em>was</em> wrong.</p><p>An almost imperceptible scratch of gravel against dirt on the path behind him pulled Dipper from his thoughts, and in one fluid motion he whirled around, pulled his sawed-off shotgun from the holster strapped to his back, and leveled it on the creature that had nearly taken him off guard.</p><p>"<em>Jesus</em>, Dipper, don't shoot!"</p><p>The person was obscured in shadow, but his voice was distinct. Dipper scowled and tucked the gun back in its holster.</p><p>"Fuck sake, Gideon. How many times have I told you to <em>not </em>sneak up on me? One of these days I'm gonna end up blowing your head off."</p><p>Gideon stalked forward, his arms crossed over his chest, his disheveled, now shoulder-length white hair falling across his eyes. "Well maybe if you wouldn't stay out so close to curfew, I wouldn't constantly be <em>volunteered </em>by Ford to come after you so you don't get locked out all night. Again."</p><p>Dipper rolled his eyes. "Well, yell out to me or something, so I can hear you from a distance. You've finally become a somewhat tolerable human being. I'd hate to accidentally kill you."</p><p>"Uh, thanks? I think," Gideon said, giving Dipper the side-eye. "But there's no fucking way I'm gonna just loudly announce to every godforsaken wild critter in this hellscape that I'm out amongst them. I never sign up for hunting detail for a reason." Dipper stared at him blankly, so he sighed and continued. "It's because I'm a coward, Dipper. I don't like coming out here because I'm scared shitless. Speaking of—sun's setting, and I don't have any intention of getting locked out for the night. I'm going back now." He turned and walked in the direction he'd come from.</p><p>Dipper sighed and picked up the satchel at his feet, slinging it over his shoulder, before following his friend back home.</p><p>/</p><p>"Hey dudes, you're just in time. I was about to climb up and bolt the hatch," Soos said by way of greeting, at the bottom of the ladder that Gideon and Dipper had descended into the depths of their home.</p><p>The abandoned alien spacecraft buried beneath the outskirts of Gravity Falls was the only secure, bunker-esque housing that would comfortably fit all the original Remnants of Gravity Falls without them constantly bumping elbows. In the first week of Weirdmageddon, after Stan and Ford's mind-wipe plan backfired spectacularly, Dipper and Mabel's Great Uncle Ford had invited anyone he came across in the ruins to live with them in his laboratory under what was left of the Mystery Shack. However, the lab was small, there was zero privacy, and it quickly became too cramped. In the years following their taking up residency in the UFO, the Remnants' numbers had dwindled drastically enough that Ford's old lab might once again be a good option, but the last few Remnants preferred to just stay where they were.</p><p>They had actually been able to make the UFO quite homey, once the remaining security drones were dealt with. Everyone had their own rooms, except for Soos and Melody, who shared one. Dipper and Mabel originally shared a room too, out of preference more than necessity. But of course, now Dipper had the room to himself.</p><p>Dipper passed his hand over the sensor next to his door, and it slid open with a hiss. He tossed his satchel carelessly to the floor, and unstrapped his holster, placing his shotgun on its wall rack, next to his other weapons. He took off his tattered green flannel, and hung it over the back of his desk chair, then peeled off the stained white t-shirt he'd been wearing beneath it. He held it out and looked at it with a wince, making a mental note to wash his clothes soon.</p><p>"Hey Pines, did you-oh sorry, you're changing!" A red-faced Pacifica Northwest stood in Dipper's open doorway, a hand over her eyes. "Your door was open so I thought-"</p><p>Dipper chuckled. "You can uncover your eyes, Paz. I <em>do</em> have pants on. What'd you need?"</p><p>Pacifica lowered her hand, but when she talked she seemed to be addressing the wall over Dipper's left shoulder. "Mel just sent me to see if you had anything for her from your outing today."</p><p>Dipper nodded. He reached down to pick up his satchel, and opened it, looking inside. "No game worth going after, but I was able to forage some berries and mushrooms. And I think these here are wild onions?" He handed her the satchel. "She might want to check everything with Ford, but I'm pretty sure nothing I have in there is poisonous. Well—mostly sure."</p><p>"So what I'm hearing is that I should run these by Ford <em>before </em>taking them to Melody to cook with," Pacifica said with a small smile, finally meeting Dipper's eyes.</p><p>Dipper shrugged. "Yeah, I <em>suppose</em> that couldn't hurt."</p><p>"Right," Pacifica said with a small nod. As she turned to go, she called back over her shoulder, "Oh, I was also supposed to tell you dinner's in twenty. And—you should probably get a shower."</p><p>"What, are you saying I smell?" Dipper called after her jokingly. Then he gave his right armpit a quick sniff, and his head jerked back involuntarily. "Oh," he said, with a grimace. He quickly gathered his shower things and headed down the hall to the communal men's room to get cleaned up before dinner.</p><p>/</p><p>As Dipper let the water cascade over his body, tears poured down his cheeks. Tears were almost an involuntary reaction to showering anymore, as it was the only time he allowed himself to really feel any emotion. He leaned forward, bracing his arms against the front of the small shower stall, and put his head down. Gravity caused the tears to drip directly down onto the shower floor, where they mixed with the rest of the water as it swirled into the drain. His body shook with sobs, but he'd long since learned how to cry silently. The last time he'd uttered an audible sob was the day he hugged Mabel 'goodbye for now.'</p><p>Dipper did his best to appear strong and stoic for the sake of the others he lived with, but every moment of his existence was pain. The absence of Mabel was like a raw wound that refused to heal, and every time he thought of her, it started to bleed again. At least he'd had his twin to turn to in his grief when Ford's plan to end Weirdmageddon had failed, and Grunkle Stan, possessed by Bill Cipher, had killed himself.</p><p>He'd also had Mabel there to support him when he'd finally accepted that Wendy, who had gone missing while on a hunt three years ago, wasn't coming back. They'd found her green flannel over-shirt tattered and tangled in a thorn bush, and a few feet away there had been a patch of dirt permeated with dark red blood. More blood than a human could survive losing. After a thorough search, the general consensus of the Remnants was that Wendy had been taken unawares by one of Bill's demon lackeys, and most likely, as gruesome as it was to say, eaten. Dipper hadn't wanted to believe it, and went out looking for Wendy every day, for weeks. He simply refused to accept that she was gone.</p><p>A month after Wendy's initial disappearance, Mabel presented Dipper with Wendy's green flannel shirt that she'd patched up for him. Something about holding Wendy's shirt in his hands allowed Dipper to process that this was real, and she was gone. Mabel had held her brother and rocked him as he clutched the shirt to his chest and wept inconsolably.</p><p>After having to say goodbye to his sister indefinitely, Dipper only ever cried in the shower. He couldn't allow himself to become as close to anyone as he'd been to Mabel. Being close enough to someone that he could cry in front of them meant being hurt if, (or rather, when, in this nightmarish hellscape) anything happened to them. He wasn't sure he'd survive having to say goodbye to someone he was that close with again.</p><p>The hydraulic hiss of the bathroom door sliding open alerted Dipper to the fact that he was no longer alone. He sniffled and straightened up quickly, in case whoever it was could see his shadow through the flimsy shower curtain.</p><p>"Hey Dip, you're not jerkin' off in there are you? Everyone's waiting on you for dinner!"</p><p>"Fuck off, Gideon," Dipper called, scowling as he quickly scrubbed himself with soap. "Just start without me."</p><p>"<em>I</em> would personally love to," Gideon replied. "Mel, however, won't have it. 'Dinner time is <em>family</em> time,' she says. So hurry your ass up. I'm fucking hungry."</p><p>The bathroom door hissed shut before Dipper had a chance to think up a snarky comeback. He sighed and finished washing, then quickly dried off and dressed in a somewhat clean t-shirt and pair of jeans. After dropping his shower things back off in his room, he headed to the open area near the center of the UFO that had been designated the 'dining room.'</p><p>"Nice of you to join us, Dipper," Ford said wryly, from his spot at the head of the table. He was, of course, joking. Or he would be, if there was any semblance of humor left in his tired, old body. The Remnants' numbers had dwindled drastically since they first took shelter in the UFO. As their self-appointed leader, Ford felt responsible for their safety, and every death and disappearance had aged him seemingly by years at a time, leeching him of the vital essence and curiosity that had made Ford, Ford.</p><p>The last few Remnants were sitting clustered around him at one end of the long table: Soos, Melody, Pacifica, and Gideon. Dipper sat down next to Gideon on one of the many empty chairs remaining. The rest of the chairs would no longer be occupied—a daily visual reminder of the people they'd lost.</p><p>"Sorry to keep you waiting," Dipper said tonelessly, turning to address Melody. "I thought I had time for a shower."</p><p>Melody flapped a hand at him. "Oh, it's not a problem, sweetie," she said, as she scooped venison stew into bowls and passed them to Soos to distribute. "I'm just glad you didn't get locked out again."</p><p>Dipper felt his face redden. "I can take care of myself out there," he muttered, accepting a bowl of stew from Soos.</p><p>"Is it really <em>still</em> necessary to bolt the hatch at sunset?" Pacifica asked, swirling her spoon lazily in her bowl. "I mean, the six of us have survived this long—I think we all know by now not to go out after dark. If we stop bolting the hatch at night, Dipper can just let himself back in if he stays out past sunset."</p><p>Gideon nodded vigorously. "I am <em>all</em> for that plan. No offense, Dip, but I'm not fond of risking my hide going out to hunt you down every time you decide to cut it close to curfew."</p><p>"None taken. I never said I wanted you to, anyway," Dipper said, before shoving a spoonful of stew into his mouth.</p><p>Ford chewed his food thoughtfully, swallowed, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Soos, Melody? How about you? Any opinions on keeping the hatch locked or unlocked at night?"</p><p>Melody shook her head, and Soos spoke up. "Not really Mr. Pines. I mean, whatever you think is best is probably best. After all, you have, like, twelve doctor degrees, right?"</p><p>Ford nearly smiled. "Doctorates. Yes, I do have twelve of them. And believe me, I have given the matter serious thought. Gideon, you no longer have to go after Dipper if he's still out close to curfew. I suppose it has been unfair of me to ask that of you. But the hatch will continue to be bolted at sunset. With only the six of us trying to survive out here, we can't spare anyone from their daytime duties to be a night watchman—or watchwoman," he added with nods to Melody and Pacifica, before continuing. "Dipper, I expect you to respect that, and keep track of the time while you're out. We rely on the food you hunt and scavenge. It would put us in a tough spot if you got yourself killed."</p><p>Dipper clenched his jaw, and nodded. He missed the old Grunkle Ford, who would have actually expressed concern for his great-nephew as a person and family member, rather than just concern for Dipper as the provider of the Remnants' only food source.</p><p>The group ate quietly for a time, before Melody elbowed Soos, and he stood up and awkwardly cleared his throat.</p><p>"Ahem, so, dudes, we—that is to say, Mel and me...Mel and I? Okay, so I can't remember which is grammatically correct, but that doesn't really matter, because... I forgot what I was saying." Soos glanced down at Melody and she mouthed something at him. "We have an...enhancement?"</p><p>Melody heaved a sigh and yanked Soos back down into his seat. "An announcement, Soos. We have an announcement."</p><p>Soos' eyes lit up, "Oh yeah, that was it!"</p><p>"An announcement?" Ford said, his eyebrows drawing together.</p><p>Melody nodded. She laid a hand on her lower belly, and beaming, she said, "I'm pregnant."</p><p>Dipper's brows furrowed involuntarily. He wasn't sure how he felt about the news, and gauging by their reactions, neither was anyone else. Pacifica gasped, but it sounded more like a shocked gasp than a happy gasp. Gideon was smiling at the couple, but the smile looked uncomfortable and forced, like he was being made to sit for a family portrait. Ford was paler than usual, and his mouth was a thin line as he stared at Melody's hand on her stomach.</p><p>"We talked about this Soos," Ford said finally. "You were supposed to be taking preventative measures."</p><p>"We did, Mr. Pines, I swear. But it happened anyways. Like it was meant to be." Soos smiled at Melody and laid his hand on top of hers.</p><p>"I see," Ford murmured. "How far along would you estimate you are, Melody?"</p><p>"At least five months," she answered. "I didn't realize for so long because I normally have very irregular p—"</p><p>"So too far along to easily abort, is what you're saying," Ford said, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache.</p><p>"Oh shit," murmured Dipper. He, Pacifica, and Gideon met each other's wide-eyed glances. Yeah. Ford really just said that.</p><p>Melody's face fell, and Soos stood up so quickly that he knocked his chair over.</p><p>"Abort?! Never! What the hell, Mr. Pines?"</p><p>Ford frowned. "You're not seriously considering trying to go through a full-term pregnancy and bringing a child into the world in these circumstances, are you?"</p><p>Dipper had heard enough. More than enough. "Hey, Pacifica, Gideon, I just remembered we need to go work on our project," he said loudly, before Soos or Melody could answer Ford.</p><p>"What project?" asked Gideon, cluelessly.</p><p>"You know, that one project," Pacifica answered him, clearly having understood Dipper's intentions.</p><p>"OW—I mean...OH, that project," Gideon said, after Dipper kicked him hard in the ankle. The three of them got up and hurried away from the dining table in the direction of the living quarters.</p><p>When they arrived at the common living area between the rows of bedrooms, Gideon turned to Dipper with one eyebrow raised. "Just to be clear, we don't <em>actually</em> have some project that I've plum forgot about, and we just <em>said</em> we did to get away from the awkward and emotionally charged situation back there, right?"</p><p>Dipper nodded and sank down onto one of the old sofas that the Remnants had managed to drag back to the UFO when they first moved in. Pacifica sat on the other end of the sofa, while Gideon plopped down onto a leaking bean bag chair.</p><p>"Right," said Dipper. "Shit, I knew Ford had basically gone full Vulcan for the sake of our survival, but I can't believe he'd want Soos and Melody to abort their baby."</p><p>Pacifica frowned. "Full Vulcan?"</p><p>"It's a Star Trek reference," Dipper said, with a wave of his hand. No use wasting breath explaining it to her. It felt kind of stupid, in hindsight, that he'd referenced a science fiction television show while sitting in an actual space ship.</p><p>"Oh, you mean like Spock?" Pacifica said, surprising him.</p><p>"Well, technically Spock was only <em>half</em> Vulcan, but yeah," Dipper said with a nod. "Logic over emotion, always."</p><p>"Huh," Gideon mused. "I always kind of got a Captain Kirk vibe from Stanley, so Ford being Spock makes sense."</p><p>Dipper arched a brow. "I can see that, as long as no one tries to ship them."</p><p>"Ship?" Pacifica questioned.</p><p>Dipper shook his head. This conversation wasn't going as he'd expected. "Look, forget that. Soos. Melody. Baby."</p><p>"Yeah, but so what?" Gideon said, shrugging. "I mean, based on their adverse reaction to the idea that they abort, it looks like the baby is happening, no matter what Ford wants."</p><p>"Maybe," Pacifica said. "Or maybe there are complications and Melody loses the baby. Or they both die. Or only she dies, and then we watch the baby starve to death because we have no way to get infant formula for it."</p><p>"Well ain't you just a ray of fucking sunshine," Gideon muttered, kicking at a pile of stray foam beans at the base of his seat.</p><p>Dipper shook his head, his throat tight. "She's a realist. We didn't have proper medical facilities or medicine to treat Mabel's illness, so we had to freeze her. Unless Melody has a textbook-perfect pregnancy, which (given our circumstances) will probably not happen, things could go very wrong."</p><p>At the mention of Mabel, Gideon seemed to wilt. Dipper hadn't given it much thought at the time, being preoccupied with his own grief, but Gideon must have been almost as devastated as he was when Mabel had to be cryogenically frozen. The two had become pretty good friends, and it was obvious to anyone with two eyes that Gideon still had feelings for her.</p><p>"Maybe...if things start to look like they're going downhill, we could freeze Melody?" Gideon suggested hopefully. "Then when we're finally able to get medical treatment for them, we can wake them both up."</p><p>"Unfortunately, that won't be possible."</p><p>Startled, the three teens looked up to see Ford had entered the common area.</p><p>"Why not?" asked Gideon. "It was good enough for Mabel."</p><p>"Yes, but Mabel wasn't pregnant," Ford explained. He leaned against a pillar and crossed his arms, continuing. "I have no idea what the cryogenic process would do to a developing fetus. Soos and Melody have made it quite clear to me, in no uncertain terms, that they want to have the baby. Freezing her would just be too risky."</p><p>"So what are we going to do?" Pacifica asked. "Because an Oddpocalypse pregnancy seems pretty risky in and of itself."</p><p>"Absolutely," said Ford. "That's why the two of us are going to start studying the ancient art of midwifery."</p><p>Pacifica blinked at him slowly. "Beg pardon? Us? You and me? Study... midwifery?"</p><p>Ford nodded.</p><p>"Why can't one of them study it with you?" she asked, gesturing to Dipper and Gideon, who were both vehemently shaking their heads 'no.' "Is it because they're boys and I'm a girl?"</p><p>A humorless chuckle passed Ford's lips. "No, it's because of the three of you, you are the only one somewhat competent at first aid, and those are the skills you'll need to build on to be a midwife. You do remember the boys' sad attempts at continuous sutures, don't you?"</p><p>Pacifica facepalmed. "I learned to sew neatly because I wanted to be a fashion designer. Not because I wanted to deliver babies."</p><p>Ford shrugged. "I'm sorry, Pacifica, but you're really the only suitable choice to help me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see if I still have any medical texts that have sections on childbirth." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and headed in the direction of his shipboard lab. Then he stopped, and called over his shoulder.</p><p>"Oh, and Dipper, stop and see me before you head out tomorrow. I'm going to write a list of supplies I'll need you to try and scavenge. I'll also need you to stop by my cryogenics lab for a few things as well."</p><p>Ford continued on his way as if he hadn't said anything significant, but Dipper felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He hadn't been to the cryogenics lab since the day they left Mabel there. A prickle of guilt in his throat and a tightness in his chest made Dipper wish he had an excuse to take another shower.</p><p>He heard someone talking, but it took a moment to realize that the words were directed at him. He looked from Pacifica to Gideon, unsure which of them had been addressing him. "Sorry, what?" he asked.</p><p>It was Gideon who spoke up. "I <em>said</em>, I'll go with you."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gideon yawned loudly as he followed Dipper out of the UFO's hatch the next morning. "You get up entirely too early, you know that right?" he asked, muffling a second yawn behind his hand as he closed the hatch behind them. He shifted the empty backpack on his shoulders and raised an eyebrow at Dipper, waiting for a response.</p><p>Dipper shrugged, adjusting the shoulder straps on both his satchel and shotgun holster. "Sun's up. Can't waste any daylight. Anyway, I didn't force you to come with me. That was your idea, remember?"</p><p>"Yeah, well," Gideon grumbled, "my bad. So, uh, where are we going first? What's on Ford's list?"</p><p>Dipper glanced down at the scrap of paper in his hand. "The library, for a copy of... <em>What to Expect When You're Expecting</em>, and," he paused, squinting to read Ford's nearly illegible cursive. "Anything we can find on home births."</p><p>Dipper began walking slowly down the hillside path that led toward downtown Gravity Falls, still staring at the list of items he and Gideon were supposed to try and scavenge.</p><p>"And after the library?" Gideon prompted, watching the ground and stepping carefully as he followed Dipper.</p><p>"The hospital maternity ward. We've really only scavenged the main part of the hospital so far, I guess because we didn't expect to need any...maternity...stuff." Dipper crumpled the paper and shoved it in his jeans pocket. There was only one more item on the list, and the thought of what Ford needed it for made Dipper's chest ache.</p><p>"What about Ford's cryogenics lab?" Gideon asked. "Didn't he say he needed something from there, too?"</p><p>Dipper sighed. Of course Gideon would bring it up. "Yeah, we'll stop there last. It'll be on our way back. He needs us to pick up his blueprints for the cryostasis devices."</p><p>There was a scuff of gravel, and Dipper turned to see that Gideon had stopped in his tracks.</p><p>"What's he need those for?" Gideon asked, with a frown. "I thought Ford said it would be too risky to freeze a pregnant woman?"</p><p>Dipper tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. "He told me this morning...he said he's going to try to build a—a baby-sized one. Just in case..."</p><p>Gideon's face paled, enough so that his already fair skin looked nearly translucent. He closed his eyes and breathed out a low, "Jesus."</p><p>"Yeah," was all Dipper could muster in reply. Then he cleared his throat and turned back in the direction of town. "We really shouldn't be talking right now," he said over his shoulder. "Don't want to draw attention to ourselves." He cocked his head in the direction of the Fearamid, which hung heavy in the air to the east.</p><p>"Right," Gideon said quietly. "Sorry."</p><p>Together they moved toward the town, accompanied only by the sound of their light footfalls on the dirt path.</p><p>/</p><p>The library was the easiest part of the trip, because Ford had written down the call numbers for books on pregnancy and birth. Scavenging at the hospital was more difficult, because Ford's list literally said "maternity stuff." Unfortunately, they were unable to scavenge most of the maternity stuff that Dipper actually knew the uses for, as bassinets and incubators don't fit in backpacks. They finally settled on some baby bottles and swaddling blankets. In addition they grabbed more first aid supplies, and Gideon had the idea to search the operating theaters, where they found some unopened packages of sterilized surgical instruments.</p><p>"If Ford wants something more specific, he can come scavenge it himself," Dipper muttered as they were leaving. He pulled the glass hospital entrance door open and waited for Gideon to pass through before following him outside. "Good call on the surgical instruments, though. I mean, I hope we never have to use them, but I'd rather we have access to sterile scalpels and scissors and clamps and whatever that one pointy thing is, should the need arise."</p><p>Gideon nodded, shifting the shoulder straps of his overly-full pack as he walked down the crumbling sidewalk next to Dipper. "Makes me wonder if there's something hidden away in the hospital that could've helped Mabel, but since none of us have medical training, we overlooked it."</p><p>At the mention of Mabel, Dipper's back stiffened and his chest ached. He wasn't looking forward to their last stop of the day. His sister would be there, in a tube, frozen in time, while he had aged two and a half years. It was one thing <em>knowing</em> that was the case… but seeing it would make it too real. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to cope.</p><p>"Dip, you okay?" Gideon asked softly, when Dipper failed to respond after several minutes.</p><p>"Yeah," he said, his voice strained from the tightness in his throat. "But remember, we really shouldn't talk out in the open. Not safe."</p><p>As if to prove his point, a faint scuttling sound came from behind them, steadily getting louder. Dipper knew that noise. A surge of adrenaline shot through his system, clearing his mind of thoughts of Mabel, his focus, instead, turning to survival.</p><p>"Shit, hear that? It's the giant Hand," he whispered urgently. Grabbing Gideon by the shoulder, Dipper steered him into a nearby alleyway, and pushed him back behind a dumpster, pressing himself flat against the wall next to him. "I don't know if it noticed us," he breathed. "Don't move, and don't make any noise."</p><p>Gideon nodded. He was trembling, long white hair falling forward over his wide eyes. Based on Gideon's body language, Dipper could tell he'd be no good in a fight. Or at least, not <em>this</em> fight. If this even became a fight.</p><p>Dipper strained to listen for the Hand's scrabbling noises over Gideon's shaky panic-breathing. His eyes narrowed when he didn't detect <em>any</em> noise that the Hand might make. Had it already passed them that quickly? He peered around the side of the dumpster so he could see the entrance to the alley, and his blood ran cold. The Hand was crouched at the mouth of the alley, index finger and ring finger raised in the air, twitching, sensing.</p><p>"Fuck," Dipper whispered, pulling his head back behind the dumpster. He turned to Gideon, whose skin was as white as his hair. "Gid, listen carefully. When I say <em>go</em>, I need you to <em>run</em>, okay? Run out the back of the alley and head straight for the UFO. I'll distract the Hand while you get away, so don't wait for me, alright? I'll see you again at home. And leave your backpack. You'll be faster that way."</p><p>Gideon's lips trembled, and he looked conflicted. "I can't just leave you to—"</p><p>"Don't worry about me," Dipper hissed, cutting him off. "There's no time to argue." He peered back around the dumpster. The Hand was slowly creeping closer. "Hurry up, Gid. Backpack off."</p><p>Gideon frowned, but slid the pack from his shoulders, setting it gently on the ground at Dipper's feet. "Don't do anything stupid," he mumbled.</p><p>Dipper nodded at him. "Same." He peeked around the dumpster one last time, to see that the Hand was almost to their hiding spot. This was it, then. "Gid," he said emphatically. "<em>Go</em>."</p><p>Dipper didn't wait to watch Gideon spring into action. He whirled around and stepped out from behind the dumpster, directly into the path of the Hand.</p><p>"Looking for someone?" he said low, as he pulled his shotgun from its back holster and cycled it. It would be a calculated risk to shoot, because the noise would most certainly draw more monsters to his location. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but preferred to have the shotgun out and ready in case it did.</p><p>The Hand reared back slightly, then scurried forward, its fingers moving at lightning speed as it closed the short distance between itself and Dipper.</p><p>"Shit!" Dipper hissed, jumping back just in time to avoid being pinched between the Hand's gigantic index finger and thumb. He'd seen the Hand around before, which was why he had recognized the noise it made as it scurried along the ground. However, he'd never had this close of an encounter with it, so he hadn't realized just how quickly it could move. He had assumed that it would move somewhat slowly, its pace similar to that of the Horrifying Sweaty One-Armed Monstrosity. Clearly, his assumption proved to be incorrect.</p><p>Dipper attempted to dart around the Hand, dodging its long, jagged fingernails the size of dinner plates as he tried desperately to find a way past it. His plan was to run out the mouth of the alley, in the opposite direction of Gideon. Well, it had been his plan. His backup plan was a bit riskier, because it involved him running out the back of the alley, and hoping he'd given Gideon enough of a head start to be safe.</p><p>As he bobbed and weaved to avoid being pinched or poked to death, Dipper tried to calculate how long it had been since Gideon had taken off at a sprint. He should have at least gotten to the treeline of the forest by now.</p><p>"Fuck it," Dipper muttered, and turned tail, sprinting past the dumpster. He mentally berated himself when he noticed Gideon's backpack still sitting next to it. He would just have to come back for it later.</p><p>With the wind in his ears, Dipper couldn't listen for the scrabbling of the Hand on pavement to tell how closely it was following him. As he neared the end of the alley, he risked turning his head to look behind him. His steps faltered. The Hand was gone.</p><p>"What the h—SHIT!"</p><p>It actually wasn't gone. The Hand had skittered up the side of one of the buildings lining the alley, like a spider, and when Dipper turned his head to look back, it launched itself off the brick wall and directly at the teen's head.</p><p>One of the jagged fingernails raked Dipper's eyebrow, just barely missing the eyeball itself, and blood streamed down his face, obscuring the vision in his left eye. He stumbled back, but the Hand continued toward him, and before Dipper realized what it was doing, it flicked him hard, in the dead center of the chest, the force of it sending him flying back into the side of the dumpster. A loud boom echoed through the empty town as the back of Dipper's head connected with the green metal.</p><p>Pain bloomed behind his eyes from his impact with the dumpster, but the more pressing matter seemed to be that Dipper felt like he couldn't breathe—the flick had knocked the wind out of him. The Hand was advancing, backing him into the corner where the dumpster met the alley wall. It was time to take that calculated risk. Most of the monsters in Gravity Falls probably heard the noise his head had just made against the dumpster anyway, so why not add a few shotgun blasts?</p><p>Dipper wiped the blood from his eye with his sleeve, attempting to wheeze some air into his lungs as he raised the shotgun, and placed his finger on the trigger.</p><p>BLAM</p><p>The spread covered most of the Hand, peppering it with small holes oozing blood—but it kept coming. Dipper chambered a new round, and shot again. That slowed it down, but it was still coming.</p><p>CH-CH</p><p>BLAM</p><p>CH-CH</p><p>BLAM</p><p>CH-CH</p><p>BLAM</p><p>CH-CH</p><p>BLAM</p><p>Dipper stopped shooting and sighed, finally able to draw in a full breath. He had no way to tell if the Hand was actually <em>dead</em>, but it had collapsed onto the crumbling asphalt, twitching spasmodically. Whether or not it was dead, the Hand was no longer attacking, which meant that Dipper had to get out of there <em>now</em>, after all the noise he'd made.</p><p>Dipper re-holstered his shotgun, and stooped to pick up Gideon's backpack, swinging it over one shoulder. He was too winded to sprint, so he took off at a trot out the back of the alley, only speeding up when he started hearing the distant hoots and hollers of Bill's monster minions investigating what all the commotion was downtown.</p><p>/</p><p>Dipper decided to forgo the last stop on his scavenging list, since he'd told Gideon to head straight back to the UFO. He didn't want anyone worrying if he didn't return shortly after the younger teen. It came as a surprise, then, when he climbed down the hatch, that nobody was waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder. Then it occurred to him that maybe Gideon briefing Ford on the situation in the ship's laboratory. On his way to Ford's lab, he passed the common area, where Pacifica was sitting, reading. She noticed him passing and glanced up to give him a little wave.</p><p>"Hey Dipper, how did your—holy shit!" A look of horror crossed Pacifica's face. She dropped her book on the couch and leapt to her feet, her eyes wide with concern. "Dipper, what the hell happened to you? To your <em>eye</em>?!"</p><p>"Didn't Gideon tell you?" Dipper asked with a frown. Maybe Gideon had made a beeline for Ford without stopping to talk to anyone else first. That was probably it.</p><p>"Wh-Gideon?" Pacifica's brows furrowed. "I thought he was supposed to be with you?"</p><p>Dipper shook his head a little more forcefully than he meant to, and then winced because it felt like his brain was rattling against the walls of his skull. "No, I sent him on ahead of me. We were being stalked by the giant Hand, and I stayed back as a distraction so he could escape undetected. You probably just didn't see him when he came in."</p><p>Pacifica bit her lower lip. "Ye-yeah. I'm sure that's it. Let's go find him." She crossed the common area and grabbed Dipper's wrist, tugging him in the direction of Ford's lab.</p><p>However, Gideon wasn't there. Ford wasn't even there. At this point, Dipper began to feel his chest tightening in panic. Even though Gideon had volunteered to come with him, he felt responsible for the younger teen. That was the whole point in his acting as a distraction—so that Gideon had time to escape.</p><p>"He-he's probably talking to Soos or Melody," Pacifica said, the false positivity in her voice obvious.</p><p>Dipper felt himself nodding, even though he didn't believe it. "I'm gonna just… go back outside. I'll head over to the cryo lab," he said, his throat tight. "Maybe Gideon misheard me and went there instead of coming home."</p><p>On his way back to the hatch, Dipper dropped both his satchel and Gideon's backpack in the common area. He kept his shotgun holstered, however, worried that he might find Gideon in need of protecting.</p><p>When he reached the top of the ladder and opened the hatch, Dipper peered around, alert and ready to go on the offensive if need be. However, there was nothing there. Nothing out of the ordinary, in any case. He shut the hatch, and started in the direction of Ford's cryogenics lab, careful to tread quietly so he would be alerted to any foreign noises around him.</p><p>He was about halfway to the lab when he heard the faint scuffle of running human feet on dirt, headed in his direction. Dipper picked up his pace and unholstered his shotgun as he ran, because although he didn't hear any additional noise, he couldn't think of any reason, besides being chased, for Gideon to be running.</p><p>Dipper crested a hill and Gideon came into view, his head down, eyes focused on the ground in front of him. As Dipper trotted down toward Gideon, he called out so as not to startle his friend.</p><p>"Hey, Gid!"</p><p>Gideon looked up, and began running even faster, until he and Dipper met in the middle of the hill.</p><p>"She's—she's," Gideon said, his voice strained. It seemed he couldn't get anything else out. He bent over with his hands on his knees, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes were wild and red-rimmed, and there were tear-streaks leaving trails down the dust on his face.</p><p>Dipper frowned, then looked around before asking, "Are you being chased?"</p><p>Still unable to catch his breath, Gideon shook his head in the negative.</p><p>Dipper's frown deepened as he placed his shotgun back in its holster. "What's wrong then? Why were you running? And why have you been crying?" He crossed his arms over his chest, impatiently waiting for Gideon to have enough breath to talk with.</p><p>Gideon finally stood back up, and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Dipper, she's gone. Mabel's gone."</p><p>Dipper inhaled sharply. It felt like an icy hand had gripped his heart and was squeezing. "Gone? What are you talking about? Explain."</p><p>"After I was sure I wasn't being followed, I decided to head to the cryo lab, even though you told me to go straight home. I wanted to help out by getting Ford's plans, since you were fightin' that Hand monster so I could escape. I just wanted to feel useful...seeing as I'm pretty much the dead weight of the Remnants." Gideon's cheeks took on a pink tinge, and he rubbed the back of his neck.</p><p>"So I get there, and find the plans in the workshop at the front of the bunker." He patted his back pocket, where the folded plans were currently located. Then he hesitated, the pink tinge of his cheeks turning red. He couldn't meet Dipper's eyes as he continued. "Then I-I went back to the storage area where the tubes are, because I-I just… I wanted to see Mabel's face again. But Dipper—she wasn't there! Not just her, uh, her...body, either. The whole damn cryostasis tube she'd been in has been ripped out."</p><p>The icy hand gripping Dipper's heart clamped down harder, and it felt like his lungs were collapsing. There was only one being in Gravity Falls powerful or smart enough to remove an intact cryostasis tube from Ford's laboratory, other than Ford himself.</p><p>Dipper's vision darkened, and his lips trembled as he spoke the name: "<em>Bill</em>."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I get a ton of inspiration from music, so sometimes I'll share the names of songs that influenced my chapter in the notes, should anyone be inclined to look them up and give them a listen.</p><p>Musical Inspiration for Chapter Two: Dead Flowers, by Demon Hunter</p><p>Thanks for reading this far! I hope you're enjoying it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bill had taken Mabel. Dipper was sure of it. His body flooded with adrenaline, but as he was unable to put it to good use at the moment, all it did was make him shake uncontrollably. He couldn’t just make a beeline for the Fearamid and demand his sister back, as much as he’d like to. He’d reloaded his shotgun on the fly before going out to search for Gideon, but he didn’t even have his satchel that contained his knife and spare ammo. Not to mention he needed to get his eye patched up, and get at least a little rest after his fight earlier.</p><p>He was staring at the dirt, lost in thought, when a hand clamping down on his shoulder startled him into the automatic response Ford had drilled into him for hand-to-hand conflict. He grabbed the offending arm and yanked it (and the body connected to it) close to his side, then knelt down, the perpetrator’s momentum sending them tumbling over his shoulder.</p><p>“Fuck <em>sake</em>, Dipper, what the hell?!”</p><p>“Oh shit.” Dipper’s cheeks were hot as he leaned down to help his friend back to his feet. “I was—I didn’t—sorry, Gid.”</p><p>“Jesus, I’m just glad your shotgun was holstered,” Gideon muttered, brushing his hair out of his eyes.</p><p>Dipper swallowed, and shifted his feet uncomfortably. He was glad of that particular fact as well. “Did—were you saying something to me? If so, I didn’t hear it.”</p><p>Gideon shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “I swear, you get more like Ford every day.”</p><p>Dipper stared at his feet, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult. Based on Ford’s behavior lately, it was probably an insult.</p><p>“What I <em>said</em>,” Gideon continued, “was we need to get back to the UFO and tell Ford what happened.”</p><p>Dipper considered that for a moment, then shook his head. “No.”</p><p>Gideon frowned, his blue eyes narrowed. “No? Why not?”</p><p>“Remember his reaction to the news of Melody and Soos having a baby?” Dipper said, his voice hard. “His first instinct was to abort it. Mabel was near death when we froze her.” Saying the words made his chest ache, but it was the truth. “Do you really think Ford would want us to go after her? Especially when she’s probably kept under lock and key in the Fearamid? He’s more focused on keeping the last of us who are functionally alive, well...functional.”</p><p>Gideon’s mouth was a tight line as he considered Dipper’s words. Finally, he gave a small nod. “You make a good point. What should we do, then? We don’t even know how long Bill’s had Mabel, or if she’s even—” he paused and swallowed hard, then asked again, “What should we do?”</p><p>Dipper sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. Motioning toward the UFO, he said, “Let’s talk about it on the way back.”</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>“OUCH! OW, owowowowow!” Dipper cried through clenched teeth, as Pacifica cleaned out the wound over his eye with iodine. Dipper sat on his bed, Pacifica’s first aid kit spread out next to him, while she crouched in front of him. Gideon stood in the doorway, keeping an eye out for the adults.</p><p>She pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. “Hold still, you big baby. You’re just lucky this doesn’t need stitches.” She poured some iodine on a clean cotton swab, and dabbed it at the wound. “Now what’s this big secret you had to tell me about?”</p><p>Dipper looked to Gideon, who glanced out into the hallway, then ducked his head back inside and nodded. No one else was nearby.</p><p>“Bill kidnapped Mabel,” Dipper said, without any preamble.</p><p>Pacifica inhaled sharply, her mouth agape, but Dipper continued on, afraid he’d break down if he had to stop and answer questions.</p><p>“While I was fighting the giant Hand, Gideon went to grab the cryo-tube schematics for Ford from his lab. He wanted to see Mabel, but when he entered the back of the facility, he realized that Mabel was gone. And not just her—the whole cryo-stasis tube she’d been frozen in was gone. Nobody but Bill could have done it.”</p><p>Pacifica’s hands were trembling as she unwrapped a butterfly bandage. “Have you told Ford, yet?”</p><p>Dipper shook his head, then muttered a quiet “Sorry,” as Pacifica put her hands on either side of his face so he’d be still. As she applied the bandage, Dipper tried to explain his reasoning.</p><p>“I know Ford cares about Mabel, but there’s no way he’d approve of me going—” he raised his eyes at the cough that came from the direction of the doorway. “Sorry, me and <em>Gideon</em> going to the Fearamid tonight to do recon, so we can eventually attempt a rescue mission. Which is what we intend to do.”</p><p>Pacifica smoothed the bandage down over his wound, then pulled her hands back and looked Dipper in the eye. “You realize you’re probably going to get yourselves killed,” she said, matter-of-factly.</p><p>Dipper shrugged. “If I can’t save Mabel, I really don’t have any reason to keep living anyway. And Gideon—well, I told him what we plan is a long shot, but he’s determined to go with me, so...”</p><p>Pacifica frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t really mean that, do you? That you’d have no reason to keep living? What about the rest of us?”</p><p>“Well, I mean... no <em>offense</em> to the rest of you,” Dipper said with a shrug, unable to meet her critical stare, “but I already lost Wendy, and that was bad enough. If I lose Mabel, too? I can’t—I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.”</p><p>A small noise that sounded like a frustrated cat growling emanated from Pacifica’s throat. “Fine, then. I’m coming with. Lord knows you two can’t be trusted to keep yourselves alive if you end up in need of a combat medic.”</p><p>Dipper’s eyes shot up in surprise, and he found himself meeting her level, blue gaze. “But you could get hurt—” he began.</p><p>Pacifica rolled her eyes and flapped a hand at him. “I’m just as tough as either of you—<em>and </em>I can properly suture a wound, tie a tourniquet, and set a broken bone.”</p><p>“She kinda has a point,” Gideon said quietly from his post over by the door. “I mean, in a live-fire situation, I’d want Pacifica to be keeping me patched up, rather than you, Dip.” He blushed and looked at his feet. “No offense intended. I know <em>I’d</em> be a fuck-up as a combat medic, as well.”</p><p>Dipper flopped back on his bed, his hands behind his head. “Fine. Whatever. Pacifica can come with us. We should probably all try to get some shut-eye as soon as dinner is over. I want to head out under cover of night. 0200 okay with both of you?”</p><p>Pacifica nodded, and Gideon mumbled in agreement.</p><p>“Great. That’s settled. Now get out,” Dipper said abruptly. He flopped onto his side his on his bed, facing the wall, and closed his eyes. “I need a nap. I’ll see you at dinner.”</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>Try as he might, Dipper was unable to fall asleep prior to dinner. Once at the table, he ate a few bites of stew. Then, feeling bone-weary, he excused himself from the meal early, claiming a headache. It wasn’t exactly a lie—the giant hand had knocked him around pretty good during their fight earlier.However, Dipper’s main reason for leaving the table early was that he hoped to catch a bit of extra shut-eye before having to get up and sneak into the Fearamid.</p><p>To his frustration, sleep continued to elude him. He kept picturing his sister pale and frozen, her hand up against the glass of her cryo tube. That was how she had looked the last time Dipper had seen her. Her eyes were shut against the cold, and her cheeks were gaunt from the weight she’d lost due to her illness, but a small smile had played at her blue-tinged lips. Just before they had closed the tube, she’d hugged her brother, and whispered in his ear, “See you on the other side, Bro-bro.”</p><p>Dipper swallowed, his throat tight, and his eyes burning. “I’m coming for you, Mabes,” he whispered, as his eyes watered over and a tears began to roll down the sides of his face and into his ears, before dripping down to saturate his pillowcase. He took a deep, shaky breath, and closed his eyes.</p><p>“Dipper?”</p><p>“Mabel?” He opened his eyes and blinked slowly, confused.</p><p>“Wha-no, it’s Pacifica. You said you wanted to leave at 0200, right?”</p><p>Dipper sat up in bed and blinked rapidly, wiping the crusty remains of tears from his cheeks. “Sorry, Paz. I was dreaming, I guess.” He didn’t really feel like he’d slept at all. He’d closed his eyes, and it was as if no time had passed before Pacifica said his name.</p><p>He stood up and cast a glance at his old digital clock, which read 1:57. He’d forgotten to even set an alarm.</p><p>“Are you and Gideon all ready to head out?” Dipper asked, squinting at Pacifica’s silhouette in his doorway.</p><p>The silhouette nodded. “Gid’s waiting at the ladder.” Pacifica paused for a moment, before asking gently, “Are you okay, Dipper? Do you need to talk ab—”</p><p>“I’m good,” Dipper said brusquely, cutting her off. He crossed the room and pulled his shotgun from its mount on the wall, settling it into its holster, which he’d actually put on before he tried to sleep. Then he picked up his pre-packed satchel and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>The Fearamid still hovered in the air, looking entirely too heavy to be allowed. Dipper, Gideon, and Pacifica gazed up at it from their hiding place among the trees. It actually looked quite beautiful, surrounded by starlight—or at least it would have if the three teens didn’t know that inside the structure lived an insane dream demon and his cadre of monstrous minions. Dipper knew, however, that his sister was also being held captive somewhere in there, and he was willing to do <em>anything </em>to get her back.</p><p>“So what’s your plan for getting us up there?” Pacifica whispered, jolting Dipper out of his thoughts with a poke to his ribs.</p><p>“And for that matter, how in the hell are we gonna get down?” Gideon spoke up quietly before Dipper could answer her. “I’m starting to reckon that’s probably something we shoulda talked through before hiking all the way out here.”</p><p>“Oh, ye of little faith.” Dipper held a hand to his heart in mock hurt. “Do you really think I’d trek us all this way in the middle of the night without a plan in place to get us in and out of the Fearamid safely?”</p><p>Pacifica raised her hand. “Actually, I <em>did</em> ask what your plan was,” she said, then inclined her head toward Gideon. “Our Albino Emo here’s the doubting Thomas.”</p><p>Despite the seriousness of what they were about to do, Dipper had to hold back a laugh at Pacifica’s new nickname for Gideon. She often surprised him with her quick wit—something he’d never really noticed about her before they’d been forced by circumstance to live in such close proximity.</p><p>Gideon, however, wasn’t as amused. “I’ll have you know that I’m not technically an albino—my hair is white because of a rare case of complete cranial poliosis. And I’ll <em>thank you</em> to leave my music taste out of this. I have a lot of emotions, okay?” He said the last bit behind a small smile, before turning his attention from Pacifica to Dipper. “But seriously, if you have a plan, let’s hear it.”</p><p>“Your hair has polio?” Pacifica asked before Dipper even had time to inhale a breath with which to speak. “How does one even contract polio of the <em>hair</em>?”</p><p>“Ugh, shoulda not said anything,” Gideon muttered. “Not polio. <em>Poliosis</em>. It’s the medical term for when—”</p><p>“Look, now’s not the time for this discussion, as fascinating as your hair’s backstory is, Gid. We only have a few more hours of darkness in which to do our recon, and I’d like to make use of as much of it as possible.” Dipper shrugged his satchel off his shoulder and opened it, pulling out two gun-shaped items. “This is my plan: Mabel’s old grappling hook for ingress, and for egress, I ‘borrowed’ Ford’s bubble gun.”</p><p>Gideon narrowed his eyes at the bubble gun, clearly confused. Before he had the chance to ask his question, however, Dipper answered it.</p><p>“Not bubble gum—bubble <em>gun</em>,” he explained, emphasizing the n. “It’s an old prototype of Ford’s that I helped him test. Without going into all the mechanics that make it work, I’ll just say this: we use it to form a bubble around ourselves, and jump off the Fearamid. The bubble will slow our descent and cushion our landing. In theory.”</p><p>“Uh,” Pacifica giggled nervously. “In theory?”</p><p>Dipper shrugged and tucked the bubble gun back into his satchel, before slinging the bag over his shoulder again. “We never tested it from anything as high up as the Fearamid. It worked from the water tower, though.”</p><p>“Oh, well if it worked from the water tower...” Pacifica said faintly. In the moonlight filtering through the dead and rotting forest canopy, she appeared to have turned an unflattering shade of green.</p><p>Dipper pretended not to notice her sudden hue shift, and started walking slowly toward the clearing below the Fearamid, motioning for Gideon and Pacifica to follow him.</p><p>“Aw, is the princess scared of heights?” Gideon asked in a quiet, sing-song tone, as they fell in line behind Dipper.</p><p>Pacifica huffed. “Consider it my <em>one</em> flaw. And it isn’t really even the height that bothers me, so much as the fall, followed by the bone-shattering impact of the sudden deceleration, leading to ruptured organs and, oh yeah, <em>death</em>, that come after the height.”</p><p>Dipper didn’t turn to see Gideon’s reaction to Pacifica’s words, but the low mumble of “Good descriptive skills,” made him imagine that Gideon was now as green as Pacifica had looked only moments ago.</p><p>Dipper grinned to himself and shook his head. He would’ve been willing to walk into hell alone to save Mabel, but it didn’t hurt to have these two dorks with him to watch his back.</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>The three teens stood on a ledge at the base of the Fearamid, as Dipper wound the thin cord around the grappling gun, before tucking it back into his satchel.</p><p>“Ugh, how thoughtful of you to not mention the climbing part,” Pacifica muttered, massaging her biceps. She glanced downward, gulped, and quickly took a step back further on the ledge.</p><p>“I don’t think that was part of the plan, Paz,” Gideon said, wiping the sheen of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “It <em>wasn’t</em> part of the plan, right Dip?”</p><p>Dipper shook his head. “Looks like the mechanism got stuck. It was supposed to pull us up. Maybe I didn’t calculate how much weight it could handle at once? After all, I hadn’t taken into account Pacifica being with us.”</p><p>Gideon snickered at the exact moment Pacifica crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at Dipper.</p><p>“You did <em>not</em> just call me fat, right, Pines?” The edge in her voice called to mind the spoiled, mean. pre-Weirdmageddon Pacifica.</p><p>Dipper sighed. “No, Paz, I didn’t call you fat. I meant… you’re an extra person I didn’t account for when calculating how much the grappling gun could pull. People weigh...stuff. Just—can we drop this and do what we came here to do? I want to find my sister.”</p><p>Pacifica nodded and glanced down at her feet, looking properly ashamed.</p><p>Dipper placed a hand on the wall of the Fearamid, and began walking carefully along the ledge. “If I’m remembering correctly from our last...visit here… there should be an entrance just a little up ahead.” A cool breeze ruffled his hair, and brought goosebumps to the back of his neck. He felt ill, and not just because of the walloping he’d received from the giant Hand yesterday morning. He had no idea if they’d be able to find Mabel...or if she was even still alive.</p><p>Dipper swallowed past the lump in his throat, and shook his head to clear it. Now was not the time to dwell on emotions. He could have as many emotions as he wanted after he rescued his sister. He saw the opening he’d remembered a few feet in front of him, and held up a hand behind him to make sure Pacifica and Gideon knew to be quiet. Slowly he peered around the edge of the opening, into the cavernous main “throne” room of the Fearamid.</p><p>The room was dim, lit by torches on the walls. Where once a throne made of people had stood, there stood a more modest throne, made of what looked like teeth. Next to it, stood a smaller throne of a more traditional appearance, carved out of dark wood, and upholstered with red fabric. The hall was empty, much to Dipper’s relief. He waved for Pacifica and Gideon to follow him, and crept slowly around the entrance, sticking close to the wall. Once they were all inside, Dipper felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and narrowed his eyes at Gideon.</p><p>“What?” he hissed.</p><p>“Sorry, Dip, it’s just, I honestly didn’t expect us to even get this far. Do you know where you’re going, or are we just wingin’ it?”</p><p>Dipper shrugged. “Little of column A, little of column B,” he whispered. He pointed to a door that looked like it might lead to a hallway. “Just hush and follow me.”</p><p>“Ow!” Gideon yelped quietly. Dipper smiled to himself as he started toward the door. He was certain Pacifica had just kicked their mutual friend in the leg.</p><p>When Dipper reached the door, he pushed it slowly open, praying to any gods listening that Bill kept his hinges well oiled. The gods, it would seem, were not on Dipper’s side.</p><p>SQUEAK</p><p>Dipper winced and stopped pushing with the door barely open—but wide enough for the three of them to slip through sideways.</p><p>“Something’s not right,” he murmured, peering up and down the dimly lit hallway. “Where is everyone? This feels too easy.”</p><p>“I wasn’t going to say anything, but I noticed that too,” Pacifica said softly. “No guards or anything…? I highly doubt that Himself and his inter-dimensional band of demon lackeys just all go to bed at the same time, without anyone keeping watch.”</p><p>“Unless they had some fail-safe reason to think they didn’t need guards,” Gideon whispered. “If you think he’s set a trap, should we maybe turn around and leave?”</p><p>Dipper shook his head vehemently. “We’ve come this far. We know he has Mabel. I have to find her.”</p><p>“But Dip—” began Gideon.</p><p>“We’re not leaving,” Dipper said, a bit louder than he meant to. He pressed himself against the wall as he heard shuffling footsteps behind a nearby door. “Shit.”</p><p>“I’m not doing this again, Bill! I know Dipper isn’t really here!”</p><p>Dipper’s face went numb, and his lungs forgot how to breathe. He knew that voice. It was a voice he never expected to hear again. He rushed across the hallway to the door the voice came from behind.</p><p>“Dip, don’t! It’s obviously at trap!” Pacifica called after him.</p><p>Dipper ignored her, and pushed the door open. He stood motionless in the open doorway, taking in the figure before him. If this was a trick, it was incredibly realistic.</p><p>“Wendy?”</p>
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